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Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Biblical Studies'
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Kapfer, Hilary Claire. "Collective Accountability among the Sages of Ancient Israel." Thesis, Harvard University, 2013. http://dissertations.umi.com/gsas.harvard:10847.
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The purpose of this dissertation is to consider Israel's biblical wisdom traditions comments on collective accountability in a systematic way. In order to accomplish this, each of five biblical wisdom books--Proverbs, Job, Qoheleth, Ben Sira, and Wisdom of Solomon--will be examined individually. The investigation of each book will include an examination of any statement that refers to collective or individual accountability and of the author's position on the power of wisdom instruction to help the student overcome intergenerational punishment passed down to him by a sinful parent. In addition to a comprehensive look at biblical wisdom books, this study will also consider a proverb concerning collective punishment known from two prophetic books, Jeremiah 31 and Ezekiel 18, and the use of the divine attribute formula (Exod. 34:6-7), which describes YHWH as a deity who exercises collective punishment and reward, in wisdom texts. My analyses of these investigations produce the following conclusions: 1) The concept of collective accountability is not restricted to Israel's narrative, legal, and prophetic traditions. Israel's sages were familiar with and made use of the concept. 2) Israel's sages' use of collective accountability often differs from the concept's depiction in other parts of the Hebrew Bible. For the sages, collective accountability serves pedagogical functions and vindicates divine justice. 3) The representation of collective accountability in Israel's biblical wisdom tradition is not static. As the wisdom tradition itself undergoes developments, like including historical and literary references or drawing upon non-biblical philosophical positions, so too does its depiction of collective accountability. 4) Israel's wisdom literature is not, as is often claimed, concerned solely with the individual. Communal notions held importance for Israel's sages.Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations
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Robinson, Timothy J. T. "An Increased Emphasis on the Critical Elements of the Spiritual Life and Spiritual Formation within Preaching in Belfast, Northern Ireland." Thesis, Biola University, 2019. http://pqdtopen.proquest.com/#viewpdf?dispub=13863803.
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This study proposes that within preaching, preachers should increase their emphasis on the critical elements of the spiritual life and spiritual formation so that moral formation is avoided, spiritual formation is embraced, and hearts are formed into Christlikeness, with a growth in spiritual fruit.
It is believed that many Christians within Northern Ireland do not know the difference between moral formation and spiritual formation. Generally, there seems to be a limited understanding of the spiritual life and spiritual formation, with many sermons lacking any significant emphasis on these elements.
Therefore, this study researches the difference increasing one’s emphasis on the critical elements of the spiritual life and spiritual formation makes within preaching. A full biblical, theological, and literary foundation is laid for the proposal that increasing one’s emphasis on these elements within preaching will lead to moral formation being avoided, spiritual formation being embraced and hearts being formed into the likeness of Christ, with a growth in spiritual fruit. Teaching, training and testing is conducted among local believers in Belfast, Northern Ireland, with the findings of this research seeking to prove the original proposal. It is hoped that the results of this study will benefit the Northern Irish church and lead to hearts being spiritually formed for many years to come.
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Green, Johan. "An Evaluation of the Learn, Live, Hope Relationship Counseling Program in Relationship Satisfaction." Thesis, Nyack College, Alliance Theological Seminary, 2017. http://pqdtopen.proquest.com/#viewpdf?dispub=10269002.
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The author presents an increase in relationship dissatisfaction as a problem in ministry in the areas of Lowell, Nashua and New Ipswich. He created a ministry intervention model, which consisted of the six month LEARN-LIVE-HOPE program (Discipleship, counseling, coaching, Imago Relationship Therapy, and mentoring). He recruited eight participants. He used the Relationship Assessment Scale, Expanded Relationship Assessment Scale, and Green Relationship Assessment Scale to measure miscellaneous different constructs of relationship satisfaction, Specific needs met in relationship satisfaction and connection with one’s partner in relationship satisfaction. He interviewed eight participants and searched for indicators of love and grace, personal needs, positive and negative thoughts about one’s partner’s character; and general concepts of relationship satisfaction. The author discovered that the four instruments used to measure relationship satisfaction, suggest an increase in: Miscellaneous different constructs of relationship satisfaction, specific needs met in relationship satisfaction, and connection with partner in relationship satisfaction. The author also discovered that all participant answers in the transcripts suggest that each of the five pillars contributed towards increased relationship satisfaction. Therefore the evidence suggests that an increase in horizontal relationship satisfaction is as a result of tending to a vertical relationship with God.
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Kim, Hyangmo. "Contextualized biblical hermeneutics in Korea and South Africa and decontextualized biblical hermeneutics in Jehovah's witnesses : in search of voices from the margin." Master's thesis, University of Cape Town, 2003. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/8607.
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Bibliography: leaves 100-108.This thesis is in search of voices from the margin in biblical hermeneutics. Firstly, biblical hermeneutics in the third world (Korea and South Africa) is marginalized by European biblical hermeneutics. However, their biblical hermeneutics plays significant roles in a political and cultural context in the name of the same God. Therefore, from a historical viewpoint, this thesis compares and analyses ’contextualized biblical hermeneutics’ in Korea and South Africa. in the process, this thesis reveals that their voices have significance. From a cultural aspect, Koreans’ unique Christian religious practices, which were characterized by ‘early-morning prayers’, ‘audible prayers’ and ‘rice contribution’, induced Christianity to be transformed into Korean Christianity. Similarly, Africans interpreted the Bible without losing their traditional cultural assets such as ‘ancestor worship’, ‘polygamy’, ‘music & dance‘, and ‘healing’. Furthermore, they developed and transformed Christianity into the African Christianity through their own agencies, AIC (African indigenous Churches). On the other hand, from a political aspect, whether Europeans (Afrikaners) or black South Africans; whether Japanese or Koreans; whether oppressors or oppressed, the Bible was the object of political interpretation for strengthening Bible readers’ political power in each context. in other words, Bible reading was contextualized given political context of each Bible reader. if Bible reading was important to Europeans, so it was also vital to Koreans and South Africans. This is because the Bible has been interpreted on the basis of Bible readers’ context in history, whether in European, Korean or South African cultural and political contexts. On this ground, there is no reason why Korean and South African biblical hermeneutics should be disregarded by European biblical hermeneutics. In the name of Korean Christianity or South African Christianity, they must have their voices. Secondly, biblical hermeneutics of Jehovah's Witnesses (JWs)' is marginalized in the name of heresy by Christendom, which includes mainline churches in Europe, South Africa and Korea. However, their biblical hermeneutics plays important roles in unifying people of different contexts on the basis of the same Bible. Therefore, this thesis reveals the significance of their ‘decontextualized biblical hermeneutics’ through exemplary biblical interpretations. In the process, their voices have significance. From a cultural aspect, JWs' missionaries arrived comparatively later than mainline church missionaries. Accordingly, they did not have to get through cultural conflicts between traditional cultural norms and biblical norms. On this ground, their biblical interpretation could be applied in a global dimension, which reveals a sur-cultural aspect. In particular, their ‘house-to-house preaching work’ and ‘abstaining from blood transfusion’ are their representative religious practices, whether in Korea or South Africa. From a political aspect, .JWs have not participated in wars, military service or military training. Therefore, they have been persecuted by governments and military authorities. Worse still, they have been branded as heretics by Christendom. Nonetheless, on the basis of ‘decontextualized biblical hermeneutics’, this thesis puts an emphasis on various biblical reasons why they consistently have rejected and continue to reject military service. Central theme of their Bible reading is based on God's Kingdom beyond their political and cultural context. Nonetheless, this theme of God's Kingdom provides JWs with great strength, with which they are able to live in global unity. On this stance, they did not take part in the past tragic political history, whether in Korea or South Africa. Lastly, even though diverse and pluralistic biblical interpretation was a threat rather than a productive challenge to church authority, this thesis reveals that a dichotomous category could be the first step in reading the Bible for contemporary Bible readers in the name of ‘contextualized and decontextualized biblical hermeneutics.’
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SANTOS, PEDRO PAULO ALVES DOS. "THE BIBLICAL EXEGESIS IN DIALOGUE WITH THE LITERARY STUDIES." PONTIFÍCIA UNIVERSIDADE CATÓLICA DO RIO DE JANEIRO, 2006. http://www.maxwell.vrac.puc-rio.br/Busca_etds.php?strSecao=resultado&nrSeq=9088@1.
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COORDENAÇÃO DE APERFEIÇOAMENTO DO PESSOAL DE ENSINO SUPERIORA tese Exegese bíblica em diálogo com estudos literários apresenta uma nova perspectiva sobre os estudos exegéticos de textos bíblicos a partir de pressupostos teóricos atuais nos estudos de literatura. O acento é colocado sobre questões investigadas pela Estética da Recepção e do Efeito, objetivando a elaboração de categorias novas para o entendimento de processos de leitura. A tese visa, ainda, à formulação de uma historiografia do ato interpretativo cristão, em função de premissas desenvolvidas para a leitura e a construção de sentido de textos literários, transpostas para o campo disciplinar exegético, hoje igualmente aberto ao diálogo e ao questionamento de interpretações fundadas em pressupostos essencialistas. Neste sentido, novas posturas hermenêutico- literárias, levando-se, em consideração, a historicidade de atos interpretativos, são articuladas com o entendimento e a configuração da exegese bíblica, como fenômeno literário cristão e como gênero meta-textual. As premissas heurísticas desenvolvidas por Wolfgang Iser, em vista de uma antropologia literária, oferecendo ao imaginário e aos processos interpretativos novas formas de produção de sentido - em particular na apreciação da obra hermenêutica de Santo Agostinho e no discurso hermenêutico antigo e medieval - representam neste projeto as diretrizes epistemológicas, teóricas e estéticas centrais.
The thesis The Biblical Exegesis in dialogue with the Literary Studies presents a new perspective over the exegesis studies of biblical texts from actual theoretical presuppositions of the literary studies. The differential aspect comes from questions under research by the Aesthetics of Reception and Effect, which aim the elaboration of new categories for the understanding of the reading processes. The study also aims at formulating a historiography of the Christian interpretative act along with premises developed for reading and understanding of literary texts, which are transposed to the exegesis field. Since this latter has been equally open to dialogue and questioning of interpretations based in essentialist presuppositions. In such a sense, considering the history of the interpretative acts, new hermeneutical-literary approaches are articulated with the understanding and the biblical exegesis configuration as a Christian literary phenomenon and as a meta-textual genre. The heuristic premises developed by Wolfgang Iser, which offer new ways of meaning production to the imaginary and the interpretative processes - particularly in the appreciation of the hermeneutic work of St. Augustine and in the ancient and medieval hermeneutic discourse - towards a literary anthropology represent the epistemological, theoretical and aesthetical guidelines of this project.
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Zen, Beringia M. "Shame to hospitality| A post-Holocaust biblical hermeneutic." Thesis, Graduate Theological Union, 2015. http://pqdtopen.proquest.com/#viewpdf?dispub=3664451.
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In this study of Christian spirituality, I examine the dynamics of shame within post-Holocaust biblical hermeneutics and demonstrate how hospitality might function as an alternative hermeneutic. Shame can serve two hermeneutical functions for those biblical scholars who strive to interpret the bible without perpetuating Christian anti-Judaism or supersessionism. First, shame can be transformative. As a biblical scholar encounters a biblical text with anti-Jewish potential, the experience of shame for this potential allows a biblical scholar a means by which the biblical text can be appropriated. Through this experience of shame, the biblical scholar's identity as a post- Holocaust Christian is reinforced and, therefore, transformed. Second, the biblical scholar who experiences shame for a biblical text's anti-Jewish potential might recast this shame through practices of interpretive shaming. These practices stigmatize the biblical text, general readers, and Christianity for their complicity in perpetuating Christian anti-Judaism. Practices of stigmatizing shaming can be problematic because, through the process of shaming, the text, its readers, and Christianity are deemed to be flawed without hope for reform.
One way to end this cycle of shaming is to develop interpretive practices that transignify shame. Through such practices, a biblical scholar might still experience shame for a biblical text's anti-Jewish potential, but this shame is not recast. One option for the transignification of shame is through the use of interpretive practices of hospitality. These interpretive practices encourage a post-Holocaust biblical interpreter to approach a biblical text's anti-Jewish potential with a spirit of openness while still setting limits for acceptable interpretation. In order to demonstrate this hermeneutic of hospitality, I use the interpretive practices of hospitality to provide a post-Holocaust interpretation of Rublev's Trinity icon and Genesis 18:1-15.
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Langenkamp, Peter. "God’s Word to Man, Wisdom Personified and the Christ of Hebrews 1:3." Athenaeum of Ohio / OhioLINK, 2017. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=athe1506350871336805.
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Malebe, George Nzimbeni. "Restoration of land : towards a biblical jubilee in South Africa." Master's thesis, University of Cape Town, 1997. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/9509.
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Bibliography: p. 95-108.Land restitution is an inevitable consequence of the new dispensation in South Africa. Restitution aims to return people to land dispossessed because of racial laws corresponding to the Land Act of 1913. An alternative is to compensate the victims in other appropriate mechanisms. In facilitating this aspiration the present study proposes, as a solution, the biblical Jubilee as in (Leviticus 25) reiterated by Jesus in (Luke 4:16-30) and further adopted by the Christian Tradition as a theological submission. The Jubilee concept, from its biblical inception, was designed to resolve the landlessness experienced by deprived Jews in ancient Israel. This model has been adopted by various scholars as a guideline in solving similar problems in modern societies. A theological view is deemed necessary since the legal, political, economic, and agricultural systems have failed to emphasise the moral dimension in reparation and land restitution. The Christian Church in South Africa is identified as the prime facilitator in this country's nation building process. It should therefore assume a leadership role in this process through, in this instance, translating the Jubilee concept in the transformation in our modern society.
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Rodriguez, D. L. "תחת : a cognitive linguistic analysis of the Biblical Hebrew lexeme." Thesis, Stellenbosch : University of Stellenbosch, 2011. http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/6641.
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Thesis (MA (Ancient Studies))--University of Stellenbosch, 2011.AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Hierdie tesis spreek die probleem aan van polisemie in die beskrywing van die Bybels- Hebreeuse lekseem תחת in die Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia. Tradisioneel word die lekseem meestal as ‘n voorsetsel beskou. In hierdie ondersoek word aangetoon dat die lekseem ook as as ‘n naamwoord, bywoord of voegwoord gebruik kan word. ‘n Kritiese analise van standaard Bybels-Hebreeuse woordeboeke toon aan dat hierdie bronne mank gaan ‘n leksikografies begronde raamwerk in terme waarvan polisimiese lekseme ge-orden kan word. Wat nodig is vir hierdie doeleindes, is leksikale beskrywings eerder as ‘n lys “oënskynlike” betekenisse. Dit word verder duidelik aangetoon dat vertalingsekwivalente nie altyd gelykgestel kan word aan die betekenis van ‘n lekseem nie – ‘n praktyk wat al jare lank onkrities aanvaar word. Kognitief-linguistiese instrumente ten opsigte van kategorisering en leksikale semantiek word dan ingespan om die lekseem תחת beter te beskryf. Hierdie studie verteenwoordig so ‘n kognitief-linguistiese analise van die polisemiese dimensies van die semantiese netwerk van תחת , wat ook bruikbaar kan wees in digitale leksikografie. Die voorgestelde netwerk word gekomplementeer deur semantiese diagramme wat die betekenis grafies uitbeeld in plaas daarvan om dit met behulp van vertalingsekwivalente te beskryf. Die betekenisonderskeidings wat getref word, is die volgende: substantief (onderkant), plek (spesifieke plek “spot”), substitusie (in die plek van), uitruiling (in ruil vir), oorsaaklikheid (omdat) en implisiete perspektief (x onder [die spreker]). Hierdie betekenisonderskeidings word georganiseer met behulp van ‘n grafiese netwerk wat die semantiese verhouding tussen die verskillende nuanse illustreer. Die semantiese netwerk stel ook ‘n ontwikkelingsprofiel van die lekseem voor. Hierdie diagram bied ‘n moontlike verklaring waarom תחת ‘n bepaalde reeks polemiese onderskeidings simboliseer.
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This thesis addresses the problem of polysemy in describing the biblical Hebrew lexeme תחת in the Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia. Traditionally treated as mainly a preposition, it is demonstrated in this study that תחת can also be used as a noun, adverb or conjunction. A critical analysis of standard biblical Hebrew lexica reveals that they typically lack a clear lexicographic framework with which polysemous lexemes can be organized. Ideally, this would offer lexical explanations to users of a lexicon rather than supply lists of alleged meanings. Further, it is also made clear that target language glosses can no longer be accepted as "meaning", a practice which has been uncritically accepted for years. In order to move beyond English glosses, cognitive linguistic tools for categorization and lexical semantics are utilized. This thesis contributes a cognitive linguistic analysis of the polysemous lexeme תחת and a semantic network of תחת that can be useful for digital lexicography. The proposed network is complemented by frame semantic diagrams which describe meaning imagically rather than only with a target language gloss. The various senses established are: substantive (underpart), place (spot), substitution (in place of), exchange (in exchange for), vertical spatial (under), approximately under (at the foot of), control (under the hand), causation (because), and implied perspective (x below [the speaker]). These senses are organized in the proposed network showing the semantic relationship between the senses. The semantic network also provides an evolutionarily plausible explanation of how תחת came to symbolize so many distinct polysemies.
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Ovadis, Alyssa. "Abstraction and concretization of the Fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil as seen through biblical interpretation and art." Thesis, McGill University, 2010. http://digitool.Library.McGill.CA:8881/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=92337.
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Botello, Jennell. "Composition date of the synoptic gospels." FIU Digital Commons, 2007. http://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/etd/1775.
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The purpose of this research paper is to follow a line of ongoing investigations that discuss dates for the origin of the synoptic gospels and evaluate the arguments for early, late, and intermediate dating and their susceptibility to critique from opposing arguments. There are three principal components in dating theories: (1) data from the Greek in the earliest texts (2) data concerning the provenance of the earliest texts (3) and data from the historical context of the first century.
The study is significant because, contrary to what might be expected, the starting and key point in deciding on a composition date is the Book of Acts of the Apostles. This study compiled and integrated information, in an unbiased fashion, based on reading and researching large numbers of texts by scholars, such as Hengel, who support an earlier dating, as well as those, such as Fitzmyer, who support a later dating.
Furthermore, this study also required knowledge of those scholars who propose dates that do not fall into these main categories. The research demonstrated that by looking at the Book of Acts of the Apostles as the key starting point, the synoptic gospels were most likely composed before 70 CE, therefore, supporting scholars who argue for an earlier date.
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Occélus, Nathalie. "La traduction de la Bible à l'époque de la Réforme." Thesis, University of Ottawa (Canada), 1997. http://hdl.handle.net/10393/4189.
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This thesis undertakes to examine the translation of the Bible during the Reformation, i.e. in the 15th and 16th Centuries. The sudden and dramatic increase in Biblical translation during that era was such that the influence of this activity on the development of translation theory cannot be ignored. Bible translation has been the subject of numerous studies throughout the ages. The Reformation, however, stands out in this regard because of the special political, religious and cultural context of that time. In Part I of this paper, we provide an historical overview of the Reformation era. Part II is devoted to the proliferation of versions of the Bible published between 1450 and 1599 throughout Europe. In the third and final part, we observe translators at work, starting with a study of the profile of Reformation-era translators; we then examine their working conditions and take a brief look at the European vernaculars that were in existence during the Reformation. This is followed by our analysis of the main elements of theology and dogma that were at the centre of the controversies between the Catholic clergy and Reformation translators. Finally, via three case studies, we will examine the various work methods and principles applied by translators of that period.
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Dlungwana, Mlungisi Pius. "Jesus' parousia in the context of the crucifixion: An exegetical analysis of Matthew 24:1-26:2 using the semiotic method." Thesis, University of Ottawa (Canada), 1998. http://hdl.handle.net/10393/4306.
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The present research deals with Matthew's version of the eschatological discourse. Our first step was to determine the boundaries of this text. Our survey of scholarly opinions has shown that a general consensus regards 24:1 as the beginning of the discourse, while it places the ending in 25:46. We are in agreement with the view about the beginning in 24:1 but contest the ending. Our proposal is that 26:2 marks the ending of this particular discourse rather than 25:46. Subsequently, 26:1-2 is an essential part of this eschatological discourse. From the content of the text there are several reasons in support of this position. From a theological point of view we consider the disciples' question in 24:3 to be an expression of their eschatological anxiety and expectation that after his departure Jesus as the Messiah will return to reclaim possession of the temple. But Jesus' announcement in 26:2 that the Son of Man will be crucified begs the question: how can Jesus' $\pi\alpha\rho o\upsilon\sigma\acute\iota\alpha$ take place if he will be crucified within two days? This research is an effort to provide adequate answers to the structural and theological questions which arise in the course of reading this text. As our modus operandi we have used the semiotic method in its two stages of the discursive and narrative sequences, and then we made a theological commentary. Two hypotheses based on the above question have guided our investigation: one, the Son of Man's crucifixion on the day of Passover implies that it is necessary for the Son to go to his Father in order to come back empowered to judge all the nations, and two, the $\pi\alpha\rho o\upsilon\sigma\acute\iota\alpha$ of the Son of Man is above all a spiritual and personal experience of faith for those who await his coming. The whole thesis consists of four chapters. The first chapter is devoted to the cutting of the text. The second and third deal with the discursive and narrative sequences of the text respectively. While the first half of the fourth chapter tackles the coherence of the discursive and narrative elements, the second half of the same chapter is a theological commentary. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)
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Lema-Hincapie, Andrés. "Herméneutique critique : la lecture kantienne de la Bible : principes et applications." Thesis, University of Ottawa (Canada), 1998. http://hdl.handle.net/10393/4346.
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Cette recherche a eu un objectif bien precis: construire les principes d'interpretation qui guident la lecture kantienne de la Bible. Cela a ete fait a partir d'une analyse de toute l'oeuvre de Kant touchant ce sujet. La these reconstruit trois contextes ou la hermeneutica sacra de Kant est nee: d'abord, un contexte d'epoque determine par les pensees de Kant sur la Aufklarung ainsi que par le pietisme. Ensuite, il existe dans la configuration de la Bibelauslegung de Kant un contexte de controverse. Kant fait face a plusieurs traditions hermeneutiques dont la souche est parfois historique, mystique, grammaticale, religieuse ou dogmatique. Dans ce sens, le philosophe de Konigsberg entre en polemique avec certains de ses contemporains, tels que Johann David Michaelis, Johann Kaspar Lavater, Manuel Swedenborg, Johann Georg Rosenmuller et Johann Gottfried Eichhorn. Il se montre par ailleurs que Kant critique aussi la doctrine interpretative de Luther pour la Bible ainsi que la position de la metaphysique dogmatique d'un Wolff et d'un Baumgarten par rapport au Livre des livres. En dernier lieu, il est question de la philosophie critique elle-meme d'ou le philosophe puise le contenu des differents principes de son exegese scripturaire. Dans les principes interpretatifs, des acquis venant de sa philosophie pratique, de sa philosophie theorique, de son esthetique et sa theorie de la histoire ont leur place essentielle. La recherche a construit six principes kantienns d'interpretation biblique: le principe de pertinence morale, le principe d'immanence, le principe de anhistoricisme, le principe d'antilitteralite, le principe de symbolisation et le principe d'autonomie. Chacun d'eux est illustre par des textes tires de l'oeuvre de Kant, sans oublier une mise a jour de son arriere-plan historique. Finalement, tous ces principes sont mis a preuve dans l'etude approndie de deux questions d'une importance capitale pour les theories interpretatives des Ecritures Saintes, c'est-a-dire la revelation scripturaire et la doctrine kantienne sur la justification. Une introduction, des conclusions et une complete bibliographie appartiennent de meme a l'ensemble de cette these doctorale.
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Haase, Ingrid M. "Cult prostitution in the Hebrew Bible?" Thesis, University of Ottawa (Canada), 1990. http://hdl.handle.net/10393/5738.
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Adamson, James T. H. "The concept of the millennium in Revelation 20:1-10: Its origin and meaning." Thesis, University of Ottawa (Canada), 1990. http://hdl.handle.net/10393/5867.
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Patterson, Dilys Naomi. ""Honoured in her time": Queen Shelamzion and the Book of Judith." Thesis, University of Ottawa (Canada), 2002. http://hdl.handle.net/10393/6168.
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The Book of Judith is a tale about a time in Jewish history when the Jews were threatened with annihilation and saved by a pious widow. It is also an example of the early Hellenistic novel and evinces many hitherto unexplored ties to Hellenistic literature; however, even when these similarities are accounted for, the characterization of Judith, the book's main character, stands out in marked contrast to other Hellenistic female heros. Although the date of composition of the work is still disputed, there is strong evidence that links the work to the Hasmonean period. It was during this period that a woman ruled Judea; this woman was Shelamzion, whom Josephus refers to as Salome Alexandra. Charles Ball, Solomon Zeitlin, and the contemporary feminist scholar Tal Ilan postulate that the Book of Judith was written as a means of promoting the popularity of this Hasmonean queen; however, the idea has not been thoroughly examined by scholars. This dissertation explores the possibility that the Book of Judith was written as political propaganda for the only Hasmonean queen, Shelamzion. The first part of the dissertation explores literary patronage and propaganda in the Hellenistic period. Part Two examines the literary world of Shelamzion, the world which gave birth to the Hellenistic novel. The third part offers a fresh evaluation of Josephus' accounts of Shelamzion's reign; these accounts are found in The Jewish War and Jewish Antiquities . Her reign is examined against the backdrop of the politically powerful female descendants of Ptolemy Soter I, the various Cleopatras of the second and first centuries B.C.E. The final section assesses the Book of Judith as political propaganda for Shelamzion, revisiting anthropological studies of honour and shame and discussing the similarities between Shelamzion and Judith.
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Lerotholi, Gerard T. "The Acts of the Apostles and Ecclesia in Africa: An intertextual inquiry." Thesis, University of Ottawa (Canada), 2002. http://hdl.handle.net/10393/6369.
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This present work consists of six points: (1) Nature and Scope of the thesis; (2) Problem and Method (first part of chapter one); (3) Research Hypothesis (second part of chapter one); (4) The use of quotations from Acts in Ecclesia in Africa (chapters three and four); (5) The allusions to Acts in Ecclesia in Africa (chapter five); Finally, the synthesis and Evaluation of the results of the Research (chapter six). The present study is hermeneutical and interdisciplinary in nature since it deals with the applied interpretation of Scripture (Acts) in a magisterial document (Ecclesia in Africa) and the meaning that results thereof. The thesis is a research inquiry, analysis and evaluation of the intertextual links between the Acts of the Apostles and Ecclesia in Africa. First and foremost, the work consists in identifying these intertextual links and secondly in analyzing and evaluating their significance in Acts and then in Ecclesia in Africa. This research is a pioneering work in the intertextual reading of Acts and Ecclesia in Africa in a way that has not been undertaken before. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)
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Megbelayin, Ibitolu Oluseyi Jerome. "A socio-rhetorical analysis of the Lukan narrative of the Last Supper." Thesis, University of Ottawa (Canada), 2002. http://hdl.handle.net/10393/6391.
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In light of socio-rhetorical criticism, Luke's LS account emerges as rhetorical discourse both by its many Hellenistic rhetorical features and in terms of their underlying premise. Luke 22:7--38 (Western Text) clearly functions as a rhetorical discourse meant to alter the social expectations of Luke's community and produce corresponding changes in its conduct. In Chapter One, we review the history of interpretation of the Lukan LS text and provide justification for the present study. We define the aim and present our research methodology. Here we suggest that Luke achieves his self-interest, as we have defined it, by constructing his LS as a rhetorical elaboration of theme. Treating Luke's LS as a rhetorical elaboration reveals that Luke 22:7--38 (Western Text) is a unified text. In Chapter Two, we define our textual unit as the Western Text (WT) and not the Alexandrian Text (AT) of Luke's LS. Here I show how Luke crafted his elaboration by looking at the narrative material, argumentation, and repetition. Chapter Three shows that from the perspective of socio-rhetorical analysis there are four ways a text may use antecedent texts, oral or written, namely, recitation, reconfiguration, recontextualisation, and oral-scribal echo. Luke in composing his LS has reworked specific oral as well as written traditions available to him. In Chapter Four we explore Luke's dependence on the cultural systems and social structure in his contemporary Mediterranean society. This interaction with certain social codes and cultural scripts in the first-century Mediterranean leads me to conclude in Chapter Five that the language in the text can be social-culturally located as a first-century Mediterranean revolutionist response, with a conversionist tendency, that seeks to reconstruct the old social order for the purposes of establishing a new social order, the kingdom of God, the kind of primitive "Christian" community Luke describes in the first chapters of Acts. The sixth chapter explores how this social and cultural program reflects sacred interests. The concluding chapter combines exploration of the ideology of our chosen text with a resume of the course of our investigation. Our exploration of ideological texture identifies the ideology of the implied author and shows just how this ideology shapes the narrative of the Lukan LS. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)
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Duffy, Maureen E. "The riot of the silversmiths at Ephesus (Acts 19:23-40): A synchronic study using rhetorical and semiotic methods of analysis." Thesis, University of Ottawa (Canada), 1994. http://hdl.handle.net/10393/6613.
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Fernando, G. Charles Anthony. "The relationship between law and love in the Gospel of John." Thesis, University of Ottawa (Canada), 2001. http://hdl.handle.net/10393/9412.
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Law and love are two of the very important themes of the Fourth Gospel. Surprisingly, there have been only a few works on the theme of love and still fewer on the theme of law. In fact, there are only two monographs on the concept of law in the Fourth Gospel: an English one, Law in the Fourth Gospel, by Severino Pancaro and the other, a German one, Umstrittener Zeuge, by Markku Kotila. A survey of the works produced on the themes of law and love in the Fourth Gospel is presented in the Introduction. However, there has not been so far a single work which deals with the relationship between these two themes in the Fourth Gospel. Therefore, the present thesis is a new venture in the on-going johannine research. This thesis intends to demonstrate that the relationship between the concepts of law and love in the Fourth Gospel is an inalienable feature in the structure of the whole Gospel. The relationship between law and love is interwoven in the content and message of the Fourth Gospel. It is not just a coincidence that the theme of law, and even the occurrences of the term itself, find a place of predominance in the first part of the Gospel (chapters 1--12). In the same way, the theme of love and the frequency of the term itself gain utmost importance in the latter part of the Gospel (chapters 13--21). The relationship between the concepts of law and love belongs to the very core of the message of the Fourth Gospel. This thesis consists of two parts. Part One, comprising of three chapters (chapters one, two and three), deals with the law in the Fourth Gospel and the two chapters (four and five) of Part Two treat the theme of love. The Conclusion presents the Relationship between law and love in the Fourth Gospel. All three chapters of Part One demonstrate beyond doubt that the reality of the law in the Fourth Gospel is only positive and it has the function of leading the people to Jesus, who fulfills the relationship of love, commenced by God in the Old Testament through the mediation of Moses. A deeper look into johannine Christology presents us with the interesting insight that Jesus is not the one who fulfills the law, rather, it is the law which finds its fulfillment in Jesus. The law is only subservient to Jesus, the one in whom the revelation of God finds its fullness. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)
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Fournier, Marianne. "The episode at Lystra (Acts 14,7-20a): A rhetorical and semiotic analysis." Thesis, University of Ottawa (Canada), 1995. http://hdl.handle.net/10393/9616.
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The episode at Lystra (Acts of the Apostles 14,7-20a) forms part of Paul's first missionary journey in Asia Minor. In this text, Luke relates the story of Paul's first evangelization of the pagans. The vivid description of this short episode offers an example of methods in words and deeds used to preach the Gospel in the pagan world. Mostly historical and redactional studies have been done on this text. The aim of this thesis is to study the text from an ahistorical or synchronic point of view, following the newer literary methods of rhetorical criticism and semiotics. These methods, each with its particular emphases, point to different aspects of the text. A comparative study of Paul's speech at Lystra with Paul's speech at Antioch shows how new meaning emerges when the text is studied in its context. Questions concerning the origin and function of miracles in Acts as well as their relationship to the word are posed. Chapter one presents the state of the research on the episode at Lystra. Several theological and literary problems are addressed. Textual observations are made on the text. The text is delimited and a literal translation is given alongside the literary translation of the New Revised Standard Version. Chapter two presents a rhetorical analysis of the text based on the literary principles advanced by Albert Vanhoye, Marc Girard and Roland Meynet. The formal analysis follows the methodology developed by Meynet. The analysis addresses the coherence of the literary unit and leads to a first theological interpretation of the meaning of the text. Chapter three presents a semiotic analysis which follows the well-known method of Algirdas J. Greimas as outlined by the Cadir of Lyons, France. Its purpose is to investigate the operations and relationships present in the narrative and to discover the organization of its content. A discursive analysis is followed by a narrative analysis. The two analyses are then integrated and an attempt is made to interpret the results of this study. Chapter four presents a comparison of the two methods of semiotics and rhetorical analysis and discusses their merits and usefulness. The complementarity of the methods is highlighted as certain theological questions and themes are dealt with. This focuses the attention on the main message delivered in this episode. In light of the differences, new insights on the literary and theological questions of the text begin to emerge. Finally, the question of the limitations of the two methods is discussed. Chapter five addresses the significance of the episode at Lystra in the context of the book of Acts, first, in the immediate context of Paul's speech to the Jews at Antioch in chapter thirteen (vv. 16-41); a brief analysis of Paul's speech is done following the rules of ancient rhetoric. Then, the episode is analyzed in its wider context, that is, in reference to the general goal and structure of Acts. Some of the more important literary and theological questions brought to the fore touch the literary unity of the text, the function of the speech (vv. 15-17) and the nature of faith and its relationship to healing/salvation, the manner and outcome of the evangelization done at Lystra.
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Gunn, (Éloi) Têtê Délali. "Prosopopée idéologique de Paul : une lecture socio-rhétorique du discours de Paul à Athènes (Actes 17, 15-18, 1)." Thesis, University of Ottawa (Canada), 2005. http://hdl.handle.net/10393/11011.
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Rand, Dan. "The interplay of exegesis and ideology in the Jewish medieval interpretations Exodus 33:12-23 /." Thesis, National Library of Canada = Bibliothèque nationale du Canada, 1997. http://www.collectionscanada.ca/obj/s4/f2/dsk2/ftp03/MQ29508.pdf.
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Muir, Steven C. "Healing, initiation and community in Luke-Acts, a comparative analysis." Thesis, National Library of Canada = Bibliothèque nationale du Canada, 1998. http://www.collectionscanada.ca/obj/s4/f2/dsk2/tape15/PQDD_0028/NQ36783.pdf.
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Potvin, Jacinthe. "Trajectoire de la vision paulinienne sur les femmes : ambivalence ou cohérence?" Thesis, National Library of Canada = Bibliothèque nationale du Canada, 1998. http://www.collectionscanada.ca/obj/s4/f2/dsk1/tape11/PQDD_0008/NQ38794.pdf.
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Kalman, Jason. "The place of the Hebrew Bible in the Mishnah." Thesis, National Library of Canada = Bibliothèque nationale du Canada, 1999. http://www.collectionscanada.ca/obj/s4/f2/dsk1/tape10/PQDD_0027/MQ50529.pdf.
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Mathieu, Yvan. "La figure de Pierre dans l'oeuvre de Luc (Évangile et Actes des apôtres) : une approche synchronique." Thesis, National Library of Canada = Bibliothèque nationale du Canada, 2000. http://www.collectionscanada.ca/obj/s4/f2/dsk2/ftp03/NQ57056.pdf.
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Dionne, Christian. "L'annonce de la Bonne Nouvelle de Dieu, une analyse de la figure narrative de Dieu dans les discours pétriniens d'évangélisation des Actes de Apôtres (Ac 2,14--40; 3,12--26; 4,8--12; 5,29--32 et 10,34--43)." Thesis, National Library of Canada = Bibliothèque nationale du Canada, 2002. http://www.collectionscanada.ca/obj/s4/f2/dsk3/ftp04/NQ66143.pdf.
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Rogozinsky, Shayna. "Luzzatto's Derech Hashem: understanding the way of God." Thesis, McGill University, 2011. http://digitool.Library.McGill.CA:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=97093.
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The aim of this paper is to introduce the reader to Moshe Chaim Luzzatto's Derech Hashem and Luzzatto's thought process. It begins with an analysis of the introduction to the work and then examines three major themes: Fundamentals, Prophecy, and the importance of the Shema prayer. Where applicable, comparisons will be made to other Jewish thinkers. Themes will be explained within the Kabbalistic framework that influenced Luzzatto's work. By the end of the paper the reader should be able to grasp the key elements and reasons that inspired Luzzatto to write this book.Le but de ce document est de présenter le lecteur processus de Moshe Chaim Luzzatto de Derech Hashem et de Luzzatto à pensée. Il commence par une analyse de l'introduction au travail et puis examine trois thèmes importants : Principes fondamentaux, prophétie, et l'importance de la prière de Shema. Là où applicables, des comparaisons seront faites à d'autres penseurs juifs. Des thèmes seront expliqués dans le cadre de Kabbalistic que le travail de Luzzatto influencé. Vers la fin du papier le lecteur devrait pouvoir saisir les éléments clé et les raisons qui a inspiré Luzzatto écrire ce livre.
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Kalman, Jason. "With friends like these : turning points in the Jewish exegesis of the biblical book of Job." Thesis, McGill University, 2005. http://digitool.Library.McGill.CA:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=85173.
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This dissertation examines Jewish exegesis of the book of Job to two ends. First, it explores four topics previous generations of scholars left unstudied or incompletely examined. Second, it uses the results of these studies to describe the history of the Jewish tradition of Job exegesis from the period of the Talmud until the present.Chapter 1 provides a review of the scholarly literature treating various aspects of Job exegesis from antiquity to the post-Holocaust period and highlights a number of issues in need of further study.
Chapter 2 argues that Wertheimer's reconstruction of Midrash Iyov, although unlikely an accurate presentation of a rabbinic original, preserves a number of authentic rabbinic sources. In contrast to the known tradition these preserve a laudatory view of Job that appears to have been suppressed.
Chapter 3 contextualizes the rabbinic exegesis of Job. Earlier scholars argued that the rabbinic interpretation of Job was shaped by anti-Christian and anti-Gentile attitudes, and that it responded to Christian exegesis. These studies were challenged because historical evidence for this Jewish-Christian discussion was lacking. In response to this challenge, this chapter provides additional evidence and argues that the discussion did take place. The two participants were the fourth century Babylonian Jewish sage Rava and his Christian contemporary Aphrahat. A comparison of their comments on Job establishes a relationship between the two and substantiates earlier scholarly claims.
Chapter 4 explores the relationship between the Zohar's exegesis of Job and that of Maimonides and Nahmanides. The research concludes that the Zohar's interpretation is a weaving of these two scholars' views and presents Job as one who suffered because he was ignorant of mystical secrets.
Chapter 5 examines the interpretation of Job in the post-Holocaust period. It argues that in contrast to the pre-Holocaust tradition, which blamed Job for what happened to him, post-Holocaust thinkers have not allowed the victim to be blamed. These thinkers have preferred to challenge God rather than Job.
Concerned with the second objective of the present study, chapter 6 provides an outline of the major trends in Jewish Job exegesis. In the Second Temple period Job was described as a pious figure to be emulated. The earliest rabbis maintained this view. By the late third or early fourth centuries, Christian valorization of Job led to Jewish negation of his importance. This led to the depiction of Job as a blasphemer deserving of divine punishment. The view of Job as a less than innocent victim was preserved but modified in various ways in the middle ages (by mystics, philosophers, and peshat exegetes), and was perpetuated through the mid-twentieth century. Only the Holocaust forced a reevaluation of this view. Job was able to have his righteousness restored in an age when interpreters understood, by virtue of their own experiences, that the innocent could truly suffer unjustly.
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McDaniel, Karl Jeffrey. "Prospection, retrospection, and emotive effect: suspense, surprise, and curiosity in Matthew's Gospel." Thesis, McGill University, 2011. http://digitool.Library.McGill.CA:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=96728.
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This examination explores ways in which the narrative of the Gospel of Matthew elicits and develops the emotions of suspense, surprise, and curiosity within its readers. The dream narrative (common in Greek literature) found at the beginning of the Gospel sets up expectation for Jewish salvation (Matt 1:21; 2:6) though this fails to be realized in the narrative given the salvation requirements set forth in Jesus' discourses and parables. This narrative of failure brings about increasing suspense related to the characters in the plot (leaders of the people, crowds, disciples, and Peter). The narrative ends with the commission to the Gentiles (Matt 28:19-20), as a surprise for the reader given the initial expectation of Jewish salvation. This surprise, however, invokes curiosity, calling readers back to the narrative's beginning. Upon rereading with a retrospective view, the reader discovers that the Gentile mission was foreshadowed throughout the narrative via ironic quotations and echoes of Isaiah (Matt 1:23-24; 4:14-16; 8:17; 12:18-21; 20:28; 21:33-45; 26:28) that now take on universal interpretation.Cette thèse explore des façons dans lesquelles le récit de l'Évangile de Matthieu provoque et développe pour ses lecteurs les émotions de suspense, surprise, et curiosité. Le récit de rêve (une notion littéraire commune dans la littérature grecque) au début de l'Évangile construit pour le lecteur une attente au salut juif (Matt 1:21 ; 2:6). Par contre, si on tient compte des conditions de salut décrits dans les discours et les paraboles de Jésus, cette attente ne se concrétise jamais dans le récit. Ce récit d'échec augmente le suspense lié aux caractères du complot (les dirigeants spirituels des citoyens, les foules, les disciples, et Pierre). Le récit se termine avec la mission aux gentils (Matt 28:19-20) et considérant l'attente initiale au salut juif, ce passage surprend les lecteurs. Par la suite cette surprise invoque une curiosité qui invite les lecteurs à retourner au commencement du récit. En le lisant de nouveau avec une rétrospective, le lecteur découvre qu'à travers le récit, les citations et les échos ironiques d'Esaïe (Matt 1:23-24; 4:14-16; 8:17 ; 12:18-21; 20:28 ; 21:33-45; 26:28) laissent présager la mission aux gentils. Une interprétation universelle de ces passages devient maintenant nécessaire.
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Brady, Dean M. ""Now, concerning the things of the spirit": The representation of personal religious experience in the letters of Paul." Thesis, McGill University, 2012. http://digitool.Library.McGill.CA:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=110383.
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This dissertation investigates the representation of personal religious experience in the letters of Paul, seeking insight into the nature of the phenomena attested there, and into the communicative purpose of his experiential references. The study aims at helping to redress a habitual scholarly neglect of testimonies to subjective experience in the New Testament, and in ancient religious texts, generally. The thesis combines socio-rhetorical readings of selected Pauline texts with analysis of the resulting experiential data, through contemporary cognitive and ritual theory, and through anthropological models for the comparative study of religious practitioners and practices. In particular, the systematic application of the comprehensive analytical model of divergent "modes of religiosity," by anthropologist Harvey Whitehouse, enhances the comparative project. Whitehouse distinguishes between "doctrinal" and "imagistic" religious practices, involving twelve distinguishing variables, some cognitive, and others socio-political in nature. One central variable is the inverse relationship of sensory pageantry to ritual frequency, which he relates to corresponding differences in ritually mediated subjective experience, building on the prior insights of ritual theorists Robert McCauley and Thomas Lawson. Whitehouse's robust synthesis of social-pragmatic and cognitive-experiential factors strengthens this thesis' central claim that Pauline texts are intentional, competent evocations of meaningful, potentially shared religious experiences.The first main argument of this thesis is therefore that Paul's rhetoric in 1 Corinthians 12 -14 can best be understood as addressing a situation marked by the tension between "doctrinal" and "imagistic" concerns and practices, and that such a reading affords fresh insights into the nature of some of the charismata mentioned by Paul, and particularly of practices of inspired speech in the Corinthian church. The second principal argument concerns various other experiential phenomena in Paul's letters, including visions, altered states of consciousness (or ecstasy), and spiritual indwelling and empowerment. I contend that such phenomena, as attested by Paul, can be more fruitfully studied with the help of Max Weber's "ideal type" of the Charismatic, which has considerable congruence with Whitehouse's theoretical conceptions, than with other models (favoured by some scholars) from the anthropology of religion, especially those of the Shaman or the Medium.Overall, this study seeks to better establish the legitimacy of an experientially focused scholarly investigation of Paul's letters, in light of that author's evident and consistent confidence in what I call the "communicativity" of personal religious experience.Cette thèse étudie les représentations de l'expérience religieuse personnelle dans les lettres de Paul en essayant de mieux cerner la nature des phénomènes qui y sont évoqués et l'objectif que poursuit leur auteur en y faisant référence. L'enquête voudrait contribuer à corriger une omission fréquente dans l'étude universitaire des témoignages d'expérience subjective dans le Nouveau Testament et dans les textes religieux anciens en général. La thèse marie une lecture socio-rhétorique des textes pauliniens à l'analyse des données expérientielles qui s'en dégagent, en faisant appel à la théorie contemporaine du rituel et de la connaissance et à des modèles anthropologiques pour l'étude comparée des praticiens religieux et des pratiques religieuses. Plus particulièrement, l'application systématique du modèle d'analyse globale des « modes de religiosité » divergents, élaboré par l'anthropologue Harvey Whitehouse, soutient le projet comparatiste. Whitehouse distingue entre pratiques religieuses « doctrinales » et « iconistes» [imagistic] en fonction de douze variables, les unes d'ordre cognitif, d'autres de nature sociopolitique. Une variable fondamentale a trait au rapport inverse entre cérémonial sensoriel et fréquence du rite, qu'il rattache à des différences correspondantes dans l'expérience subjective médiatisée par le rite, en se fondant sur les idées des théoriciens du rite que sont Robert McCauley et Thomas Lawson. La solide synthèse qu'opère Whitehouse entre les facteurs sociaux pragmatiques, d'une part, et les facteurs cognitifs expérientiels, de l'autre, renforce l'idée centrale de notre thèse selon laquelle les textes pauliniens sont des évocations compétentes et délibérées d'expériences religieuses porteuses de sens et susceptibles d'être partagées.Le premier grand point de la thèse pose donc que la rhétorique de Paul en 1 Corinthiens 12 -14 doit d'abord être comprise à la lumière de la tension entre préoccupations et pratiques « doctrinales » et « iconistes », et qu'une lecture de ce genre jette une lumière neuve sur la nature de certains des charismata cités par Paul, notamment sur la nature des pratiques de discours inspiré dans l'église de Corinthe. Le deuxième grand point porte sur différents autres phénomènes expérientiels dans les lettres de Paul, dont les visions, les phénomènes de conscience altérée (extase) ou le fait de se dire habité (indwelling) ou habilité (empowerment) par l'Esprit. Je soutiens que de tels phénomènes, attestés par Paul, gagneraient à être étudiés à la lumière du « type idéal » du charismatique chez Max Weber, qui a une plus forte congruence avec la théorie de Whitehouse qu'avec d'autres modèles (préférés par certains universitaires) tirés de l'anthropologie de la religion, ceux du chaman et du médium.En somme, cette étude cherche à mieux fonder la légitimité d'une étude universitaire des lettres de Paul qui soit axée sur l'expérientiel, à la lumière de sa confiance évidente et constante en ce que j'appelle la « communicabilité » [communicativity] de l'expérience religieuse personnelle.
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Anderson, Matthew 1959. "Before the fact : how Paul's rhetoric made history." Thesis, McGill University, 1999. http://digitool.Library.McGill.CA:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=35977.
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Given the sheer volume of scholarship which has been devoted to examining Paul and his congregations, it is surprising that so little attention has been paid to what the texts portray as the apostle's main concern: not what his congregations were in any 'objective', historical sense, but what they were 'in Christ'.Building on this observation, my thesis may be stated as follows. Traditional Pauline studies, with their emphases either on the apostle's thought or on his congregations' historical situation, obscure the importance of the 'church in the work', a reality established in the text, structured to engender change, and made real rhetorically for readers.
These, then, are some of the questions posed: What influence should an awareness of Paul's hortatory, theological image of his congregations have on our efforts to reconstruct them historically? May the well-known Pauline 'indicative-imperative' be taken as a rhetorical strategy? And: In what way does the text try to make its portrayal the definitive reality lived out by its readers?
The focus of this thesis is on Paul's congregations as the letters indicated 'they should be', and on the linkage this vision in the letters provides between theology and history, author and reader.
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Gilmour, Michael J. "The significance of parallels between 2 Peter and other early Christian literature /." Thesis, McGill University, 2000. http://digitool.Library.McGill.CA:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=36794.
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Historians working with texts often experience a tension in their work. On the one hand there are questions raised by ancient documents. On the other, limited data makes it impossible to answer these questions with certainty. Second Peter illustrates both phenomena and as a result there is a proliferation of theories about its origin. It is used therefore as a test case in this dissertation which is primarily concerned with historical methodology. Scholars have questioned the authorship of 2 Peter since at least the second century and there remains to this day no consensus about such issues as date of composition, provenance, and destination. In short, fixing a precise historical location for 2 Peter is impossible because of a lack of evidence. To compensate for such historical gaps, scholarship has developed various theories that allow for tentative conclusions about where this and other writings best fit within early Christianity.In many cases literary parallels have played a role in both developing and defending such theories. By observing similarities between texts (and put negatively, by observing how texts differ from one another---the absence of parallels) a variety of conclusions may be reached: one writing borrowed from another, writings that share a theological perspective belong to the same period of history, writings derive from a school, and so on.
This dissertation analyses several examples of how 2 Peter specifically is located using parallels as a basis. It is argued for a number of reasons that this 'tool' is not reliable and so, to assist with historical research, a series of criteria are given. These are provided as guidelines to help historians evaluate literary parallels and also to safeguard against inappropriate conclusions based on them. With respect to 2 Peter, it is argued that firm answers are out of reach for various questions given the available data.
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Farr, Eric. "The narrative and discursive references to children and audience duality in The Gospel of Mark." Thesis, McGill University, 2011. http://digitool.Library.McGill.CA:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=104687.
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The present thesis examines the rhetorical interaction of the narrative (5.21-43; 7.24-30; 9.14-29) and discursive (9.33-37; 10.13-16) instances of child language in Mark, and analyzes how and to what effect Markan child language is figured rhetorically to address distinctly the elite and non-elite tiers of the Gospel's double audience, according to Henderson's dual audience theory. It argues that the narrative child healings construct an inscribed conception of the child and the parent-child relationship that exerts a controlling influence over the reading/hearing experience of the more explicitly argumentative child discourses. This approach seeks to clarify Mark's persuasive project of advancing, on the one hand, a self-sacrificial form of community leadership addressed to proto-Christian elites, and, on the other, an intimate form of personal devotion to Christ, addressed to non-elites. In doing so, I hope to contribute to the growing discussions concerning the nature and understanding of children and childhood in the ancient world and in early Christianity, the make-up of the Markan audience, and the power dynamics and differentials of the proto-Christian community projected by the Gospel.La présente thèse examine la rhétorique qui sous-tend les cas narratifs (de 5,21 à 43; de 7,24 à 30; de 9,14 à 29) et discursifs (9,33 à 37; de 10,13 à 16) dans la langue de Marc portant sur les enfants, et analyse comment et dans quelle mesure la langue Marcan relative aux enfants est présentée comme rhétorique pour s'adresser clairement aux niveaux élites et non-élites de la double audience à laquelle s'adresse l'Évangile, en se fondant sur la théorie développée par Henderson. La thèse soutient que les récits de guérisons d'enfants favorisent la construction d'une conception inscrite de l'enfant et de la relation parent-enfant, et que cette conception exerce une influence déterminante sur la lecture / l'audition des discours formellement argumentatifs. Cette approche cherche à clarifier le projet persuasif de Marc visant à promouvoir, d'une part, une forme de leadership communautaire fondé sur le sacrifice de soi qui cible les élites proto-chrétiennes, et d'une autre part, une forme intime de dévotion personnelle au Christ s'adressant aux non-élites. J'espère, de cette façon, contribuer au débat d'idées croissant sur la nature et la compréhension des enfants et de l'enfance dans le monde ancien et à l'aube du christianisme, sur la formation de l'audience Marcan, puis sur les dynamiques du pouvoir et des clivages au sein de la communauté proto-chrétienne projetée par l'Évangile.
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Robins, Madison. "'And I will surely hide my face:' Pseudo-writing in LXX Esther and Second Maccabees." Thesis, McGill University, 2010. http://digitool.Library.McGill.CA:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=95040.
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The Septuagint, a collection of Greek-Jewish literature initially composed of faithful translations of the Hebrew Pentateuch and later expanded to include Greek translations of the entire biblical corpus, plus apocrypha,' contains two books whose derivative character is explicitly acknowledged: LXX Esther (F:11) and Second Maccabees (2:19-32). In this thesis, I will be applying methodologies borrowed from Descriptive Translation Studies (DTS) to these texts with the assumption that they represent pseudo-translations,' compositions which claim to be direct translations from a source text, but which incorporate original material under disguise. By describing the product, exploring the process, and situating the position of these texts within their target-culture, that of Greek-speaking Egyptian Jews, the models which influenced their composition and the success of their repertoire in shaping Hellenistic Jewish cultural experience and production can be assessed. I argue that LXX Esther and Second Maccabees demonstrate a historical understanding of violence and persecution where God's wrath against his people is turned to mercy by proper behaviour, devout prayer, and willingness to die on the part of exemplary Jewish heroes and heroines. This narrative structure, imposed upon existing treatments of the historical events in question by the adaptors of LXX Esther and Second Maccabees, influenced the understanding and recording of violent experiences by Jews in the Graeco-Roman period.La Septante, un canon de la littérature greco-juive d'abord composé des traductions fidèles du Pentateuque hébreu, et plus tard élargi pour inclure la traduction grecque de l'ensemble du 'corpus' biblique, plus 'apocryphe,' contient deux livres dont le caractère notoire dérivé est explicit: LXX Esther ( F:11) et le deuxième livre des Machabées (2:19-32). Dans cette thèse, et pour ces textes, je me servirai de méthodologie empruntée des Études Descriptives de la Traduction (EDT) avec l'hypothèse que ces textes représentent des 'pseudo-traductions' (des compositions qui prétendent être des traductions directes à partir d'un 'texte source'), mais qui incorporent des documents originaux en vertu de 'déguisements.' En décrivant le produit, en explorant le processus, et en situant la position de ces textes au sein de leur culture-cible, c'est a dire celle des Juifs égyptiens qui parlent le Grecque, les modèles qui ont influencé leurs compositions et le succès de leurs répertoires dans l'élaboration de l'expérience et la production culturelle juive hellénistique peut être évaluée. Je soutiens que LXX Esther et le deuxième livre des Machabées demontrent une compréhension historique de la violence et de la persécution, où la colère de Dieu contre son peuple est transformé en miséricorde par un comportement approprié, la prière dévote, et la volonté de mourir a l'exemplarité des héros et héroïnes juifs. Cette structure narrative, imposée aux traitements existants des événements historiques en question par les adaptateurs de LXX Esther et le deuxième livre des Machabées, a influencé la compréhension et l'enregistrement des expériences de violences qu'ont subit les Juifs dans la période gréco-romaine.
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Duperreault, Danielle. "The prophetic wedlock texts, the poetics of origins, and the axiom of natural order." Thesis, McGill University, 2011. http://digitool.Library.McGill.CA:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=97109.
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Informed by social theorist Pierre Bourdieu's work on fields of cultural production, the purpose of this thesis is to explore the competing ways in which scribal agents have attempted to shape and lay claim to the wedlock trope for the purpose of legitimating their theopolitical interests. The wedlock trope speaks to a very real and authoritative conception of order in the ancient world. Scribes considered this order self-evident and 'natural.' The wedlock trope participates in this underlying world-view of order. The doxa of natural order—always already self-evidently true—is a theoretical construct in the articulation of monolatry (Hos 1:2). Wedlock is only subsequently troped as history (Hos 2:5 and 16-17; Jer 2:2; Eze 16:1-8). Origins are contested sites. Indeed, the figuration of the historical marital / covenantal 'event' is precisely what is at stake in scribal struggles to impose the dominant definition of theological 'truth.' The wedlock trope is the ideal theological marketing strategy: it does not need to be explained, authorized, or legitimated. The stability of natural order itself is what underlies the scribal struggle to legitimate, appropriate, and / or transform competing histories.Informé par les travaux du sociologue Pierre Bourdieu concernant les champs de production culturel; le but de cette thèse est d'explorer les voies concurentielles dans lesquelles les agents scribes ont tenté de modeler et de s'approprier le trope mariage dans le but de légitimer leurs intérêts théopolitiques. Le trope mariage s'adresse à une conception très réel et autoritaire d'ordre dans le monde ancien. Les scribes consideraient cet ordre manifeste et naturel. La doxa de l'ordre naturel, toujours déja a priori vraie, est une construction théorique dans l'articulation de la monolâtrie (Os 1:2). Le mariage est seulement par la suite troper comme histoire (Os 2:5 et 16-17; Jer 2:2; Eze 16:1-8). Les origines sont des sites contestés. En effet, l'événement historique mariage / alliance est précisément ce qui est en jeu dans les luttes scribes pour la légitimité dans le champ littéraire. Le trope mariage est idéal comme stratégie de marketing théologique: il n'a pas besoin d'être expliqué, autorisé, ou légitimé. La stabilité de l'ordre naturel même est ce qui sous-tend les tentatives concurentielles des scribes afin de légitimer, approprier, et / ou transformer les prises de positions vis à vis les origines.
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Lemarquand, David. "The function of King David in the deuteronomistic history." Thesis, McGill University, 2010. http://digitool.Library.McGill.CA:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=95006.
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This thesis examines the literary figure of King David in the narrative of Samuel-Kings. John Van Seters, in his book The Biblical Saga of King David, has identified two major blocks of tradition in the Samuel-Kings version of the narrative of David. Van Seters contends that the earlier Deu teronomistic narrative (DtrH) portrays David as the ideal king of a unified Israel, and that this narrative was overlaid by a later Persian period narrative (the David Saga,) which was written as a reaction to the Deuteronomistic narrative, and which sought to undercut its monarchical ideology. The aim of this thesis is to exact the socio-historical circumstances under which both of these narratives were composed. I will argue that DtrH reflects the hopes of the exiled elite of the Babylonian golah for the reestablishment of the Davidic line, and that the David Saga reflects the dissolution of these hopes under Persian imperial control.Cette thèse examine la figure littéraire du Roi David dans le récit de Samuel-Rois. John Van Seters, dans son livre « The Biblical Saga of King David », a identifié deux blocs principaux de tradition dans la version biblique de Samuel-Rois du récit de David. Van Seters affirme que le récit antérieur deutéronomiste (DtrH) dépeint David en tant que roi idéal de l'Israël unifiée, et que ce récit a été superposé par un récit postérieur de l'époque Perse (la saga de David,) qui a été écrit en réaction au récit deutéronomiste, et qui vise à nuire à son idéologie monarchique. Le but de cette thèse est d'établir les circonstances socio-historiques sous lesquelles ces deux récits on été composés. Je soutiendrai que DtrH reflète les espoirs d'élite exilée du Babylonien « golah » pour le rétablissement de la ligne de David, et que la saga de David reflète la dissolution de ces espoirs sous la commande impérial persane.
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Lobel, Andrea Dawn. "The green ears of Xanthicus : calendrical interpretations of Exodus 12:1-2 in Jewish and Sectarian sources from the biblical through medieval periods." Thesis, McGill University, 2004. http://digitool.Library.McGill.CA:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=79962.
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This historical survey traces the interpretation of Exodus 12:1--2, the Bible's first calendrical commandment, through Jewish and sectarian writings from the biblical verses themselves through the medieval era. It explores both the history of the interpretation of these verses and their application in developing a calendar traced along a historical arc spanning carefully chosen sources.These include the Septuagint and Pseudepigrapha, as well as numerous antique and early medieval Jewish sources---the Tannaim, Amoraim, and Jewish sectarian groups such as the Qumranites, Samaritans, and Karaites. The end point of this survey is the middle of the fifteenth century, prior to the expulsion of the Jews from Spain in 1492, which led to a shift in Jewish migration and settlement patterns and the development of new literatures of religious expression.
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Sulzbach-Beyerling, Carla. "From here to eternity and back: locating sacred spaces and temple imagery in the Book of Daniel." Thesis, McGill University, 2010. http://digitool.Library.McGill.CA:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=86680.
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This dissertation offers a reading of sacred spaces and temple imagery in the Book of Daniel using critical spatial theory. It is argued that the idea of sacred space is, in fact, one of the main concerns in Daniel and forms a running theme within the narrative. Because the allusions are often vague and buried deep within the individual stories a methodology has been chosen that foregrounds the notion of the spatial. Unlike other methodologies used to define sacred space, this approach is pre-eminently equipped to perform a depth analysis of the text. Although some elements from older models are incorporated, these have been reformulated and reconfigured into a new context, which goes beyond the traditional binary model that sharply and uncompromisingly juxtaposes the sacred and the profane. Critical spatial theory adds to the traditional historical and societal vantage points the spatial view, creating a trialectic which, rather than ending up with mutually exclusive opposites, results in an integrated system able to expose the sub-narrative underlying the actual text. Thus, the concepts of 'exile', 'kingdom', and 'dreamscape' that are usually understood in a more temporal and abstract sense are now studied as primarily spatial phenomena and brought into each other's orbit. Therefore, by adding the spatial component, new insights will be gained that show how the narrative past and future bear on what are the true present concerns 'on the ground' for those who produced the text. Furthermore, it correlates the concrete and abstract realms that are described in the text and it exposes the various power relations they contain. The notion that space is socially produced, and consequently defined through the ways it is acted upon, thought about, and moved in, is one of the key concepts of critical spatial theory.The point of departure for the argumentation in this study is the consensus view that although the finished text is a product of the mid-second century BCE, especially the court tales contain older materials that may go back to the late Persian or early Hellenistic Period. The proposed spatial analysis will be applied on three levels. The first is the world that forms Daniel's narrative frame, i.e., that of the Exile, because this was obviously meaningful to the editors. In doing so, full notice will be taken of the ancient Near Eastern realia that made up the world that is described. This is followed by the implied world of the Hellenistic era especially in Judea, which directly concerned the editors of the text. This, then, brings us to the world that remains wholly within the narrative, namely the alternate realities of the heavenly realm and dream worlds, which contain the hopes and ideals of those responsible for the text. In conclusion it will be assessed what effect these three worlds have on each other and how this relationship may contribute, in the minds of the Daniel group, to producing a fully restored world in which the human and divine both have their fixed places and space.
Cette dissertation offre une interprétation de l'espace sacré et les images du temple dans le Livre de Daniel, en utilisant la théorie critique d'espace. C'est affirmé que l'idée de l'espace sacré est une des préoccupations centrales de Daniel, un thème qui existe à travers la narration. Puisque les allusions sont souvent imprécises et sont bien cachées dans les histoires individuelles, une méthode a été choisie qui souligne l'idée de l'espace. Contrairement aux autres méthodes utilisées pour définir l'espace sacré, cette approche est particulièrement bien equipée pour une analyse dans les moindres détails du texte. Bien que quelques éléments sont incorporés des modèles plus anciens, ils ont été reformulés et reconfigurés dans un contexte nouveau, qui transcend le modèle traditionnel binaire dans lequel le sacré et le profane sont juxtaposés nettement puis d'une manière intransigeante. La théorie critique d'espace rajoute un point de vue spatial aux points de vue historiques et sociétaux traditionnels, créant une trialectique qui, au lieu de finir par les contraires qui s'excluent mutuellement, a pour resultat un système intègre, capable de révéler la sous-narration à la base du texte. Ainsi, les concepts d' « exil, » de « royaume, » et de « scène a l'intérieur du rêve »—normalement compris dans un sens plus temporel et abstrait—sont ici compris essentiellement comme phénomènes spatiaux et se sont rapprochés. Donc, l'ajout de l'élément spatial amène un regard neuf, où le passé et le futur narratif atteignent les vrais soucis présents pour ceux qui ont produit le texte. De plus, il fait une corrélation entre les champs concrets et abstraits décrits dans le texte, en exposant leurs dynamiques de pouvoir. La notion que l'espace se construit socialement—et donc est défini par les manières par lesquelles il est influencé, considéré, et utilisé—est un des concepts clés de la théorie critique
Le point de départ de l'argumentation de cette étude est l'accord général que même si le texte final est un produit du milieu du deuxième siècle avant JC, les récits de la cour contiennent des données plus anciennes qui pourraient dater de l'époche Perse ou bien de la première époche hellénistique. L'analyse spatiale proposée va être appliquée à trois niveaux. Le premier, c'est le monde qui comprend la structure de la narration de Daniel, i.e., celle de l'exil, car c'était évidemment significatif aux rédacteurs. De cette façon, l'attention sera faite aux artéfacts Proche-Orientaux Anciens qui formaient le monde décrit. Ceci est suivi par le monde implicite de l'époche hellénistique, surtout en Judée, question des rédacteurs du texte. Ensuite, nous sommes rendus au monde qui reste entièrement dans le récit, c'est à dire les réalités alternatives du royaume des cieux et le monde des rêves, qui contiennent les espoirs et les idéaux de ceux qui étaient derrière le texte. En conclusion, nous allons évaluer quel est l'effet de ces trois mondes les uns sur les autres, et comment cela pourra concourir à—dans les têtes du groupe Daniel—produire un monde complètement régénéré, dans lequel l'humain et le divin ont, tous les deux, leurs espaces fixes.
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Sommers, Luke. "A world in which things are not as they should be: How the Deuteronomistic ideology is reinforced in the book of judges by the portrayal of women and domestic space." Thesis, McGill University, 2011. http://digitool.Library.McGill.CA:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=103781.
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This thesis argues that the presentation of women and domestic space in the book of Judges supports the Deuteronomistic ideology and intention for the book. The first chapter provides an overview of scholarship on the Deuteronomistic History and the role of the book of Judges within this history. The book of Judges is shown to clearly communicate the dangers of idolatry and improper worship, and the necessity of strong central government by depicting pre-monarchic Israel as a chaotic and dangerous society, a world in which things are not as they should be. The second chapter examines the social background of women and domestic space in ancient Israel. By presenting a reading of the female characters of the book of Judges, the third chapter demonstrates how these social roles are challenged and contravened constantly and in diverse ways, especially in the stories of Judg 4; 11; 16; and 19. Thus, the portrayal of women and domestic space in the book of Judges is one way pre-monarchic Israel is demonstrated to be a world in which things are not as they should be. In this way the Deuteronomistic ideology is reinforced.Cette thèse soutient que la présentation des femmes et de l'espace domestique dans le livre de Juges confirme l'idéologie et l'objectif deutéronomiste du livre. Le premier chapitre donne un aperçu d'historiographie deutéronomiste et du rôle du livre de Juges au cours de l'histoire. Le livre de Juges communique les dangers de l'idolâtrie et de culte impropre et la nécessité d'un gouvernement central fort en représentant l'Israël pré-monarchique comme une société chaotique et dangereuse, un monde dans lequel les choses ne sont pas comme elles devraient l'être. Le deuxième chapitre examine le milieu social des femmes et espace domestique de l'Israël antique. En présentant une lecture sur les caractères féminins du livre de Juges, le troisième chapitre examine comment ces rôles sociaux sont défiés et enfreints constamment et de différentes manières, surtout les histoires de Jug 4; 11; 16; et 19. Ainsi, le portrait des femmes et de l'espace domestique dans le livre de Juges est une façon de démontrer que l'Israël pré-monarchique est un monde dans lequel les choses ne sont pas comme elles devraient l'être. De cette manière l'idéologie deutéronomiste est renforcée.
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Boer, Roland 1961. "Jameson and Jeroboam : a Marxist reading of 1 Kings 11-14, 3 Eeigns 11-14 and 2 Chronicles 10-13." Thesis, McGill University, 1993. http://digitool.Library.McGill.CA:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=41316.
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In this dissertation I apply the literary and cultural theory of Fredric Jameson to some biblical texts. In the first chapter I present Jameson's theory as a complex relationship between an effort to account for the pluralism of methods and interpretations (metacommentary) and a specific Marxist method, comprising three phases of interpretation. In chapter two I apply metacommentary and the Marxist method to 1 Kings 11-14, moving from a formal and ideological analysis to questions of class and economics in an imperial context. In chapter three the method is similarly applied to two reinterpretations of the Kings passage: 3 Reigns 11-14 and 2 Chronicles 10-13. Here I argue that while the Reigns text is formally and ideologically concerned with moving away from a Judean focus, by contrast the Chronicles text constructs a utopian community in Judea. The conclusion considers the implications of these results.
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Nykolaishen, Douglas J. E. "The sway of the Persian sceptre : the narrative characterisation of the Persian kings in Ezra-Nehemiah." Thesis, University of Edinburgh, 2007. http://hdl.handle.net/1842/1732.
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Scholarly study of the biblical book of Ezra-Nehemiah has mainly focused on historical questions. Indeed, the book is one of the most important sources available for shedding light on the history of Persian-period Judea. It has been widely held that Ezra-Nehemiah in its final form reflects a pro-Persian attitude, based on its treatment of the Persian kings within the narrative. The present study seeks to provide a step toward greater precision in this assessment by employing a recognition of the techniques of characterisation used in narrative texts to evaluate the portrayal of the Persian kings in Ezra-Nehemiah. After a review of the techniques of characterisation and their resulting effects, as identified by narrative critics, a close reading of each of the passages in Ezra- Nehemiah contributing to the characterisation of Persian kings is undertaken in order to discover the picture of the kings that emerges. The book is treated as a literary unity, and the influence of earlier passages on the interpretation of later ones (and in some cases, vice versa) is noted. It becomes apparent that it is not the implied author's purpose in the narrative to communicate a particular perspective on the Persian kings. Rather, they function as secondary characters, enhancing the perspective the implied author intends to communicate about YHWH. Nevertheless, it is possible to draw further specific conclusions about their characterisation. The Persian kings in Ezra-Nehemiah merge together into a single character, or a single role played by virtually indistinguishable characters. The implied author constructs them as, in significant ways, both similar to and yet distinct from the Assyrian and Babylonian rulers who preceded them. They are assumed to have motivations similar to those of any non-Judean ruler of their general period. They appear to be regularly unhelpful to the Judean exiles, apart from instances of intervention by YHWH on the Judeans' behalf. These characteristics appear to be reflected consistently in all parts of the narrative, not only in isolated sections. Insofar as the narrative of Ezra-Nehemiah may reflect the views of one or more historical individuals, it is questionable whether it reflects a pro-Persian attitude.
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Poucher, Gillian F. "Faith and works in Matthean theology : a composition-critical reading of Matthew 13 and 24-25." Thesis, University of Sheffield, 2013. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.632819.
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Warren, Meredith. "My flesh is meat indeed: theophagy and christology in John 6:51c-58." Thesis, McGill University, 2014. http://digitool.Library.McGill.CA:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=121106.
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This project argues that John 6:51c–58 makes christological rather than eucharistic claims. While scholars have often viewed the "Bread of Life Discourse" as a later addition of eucharistic theology to John's supposedly anti-sacramental gospel, I propose that the narrative of consumption in this pericope functions to make Jesus "equal to God." The moment when Jesus exhorts those around him to eat his flesh and drink his blood is when Jesus identifies himself with the God who put him on earth to die a sacrificial death. The series of statements in John 6:51c–58 brings about the identification of Jesus with God because of shared cultural expectations in the ancient Mediterranean world about the nature of heroic sacrifice: sacrifice, and the accompanying sacrificial meal, establish the identification of a hero with a deity when the hero and deity have an antagonistic relationship in narrative. John's Jesus emphasizes his submission to the will of God, who from the start of the gospel is described as having put Jesus on earth to die. Indeed, Jesus' death is alluded to throughout John. While the pattern of antagonism in narrative and association in cult has previously been demonstrated in Homeric literature and historical cult practice in the work of Gregory Nagy, I trace the development of this trope through the Greek romances, where antagonism, death, and meal collide in narrative. The romantic heroines are associated with divinities, are sacrificed, and are consumed. In other words, where antagonism and association as tropes occur in distinct realms in Homer's time, by the Common Era, association and antagonism both occur at the level of narrative, juxtaposing divinely beautiful heroines with their horrific human sacrifices. The novels are therefore a lens through which to view John 6:51c–58. In light of Chaereas and Callirhoe, An Ephesian Tale, Leucippe and Clitophon, and An Ethiopian Story, it becomes apparent that John, not through direct literary dependence but through participation in the literary milieu of the ancient Mediterranean, manipulates this trope of association and antagonism, and in doing so, establishes Jesus as God in John 6:51c–58, where sacrifice, consumption, and divinity likewise intersect.Ce projet soutient que Jean 6:51c–58 contient les affirmations christologiques plutôt que eucharistiques. Bien que les chercheurs aient souvent vu le « Discours du Pain de Vie » comme un ajout tardif de la théologie eucharistique à l'évangile soi-disant anti-sacramentel de Jean, je propose que le récit de la consommation dans cette péricope fasse de Jésus «l'égal de Dieu». Alors que Jésus exhorte ceux qui l'entourent à consommer sa chair et boire son sang, il s'identifie au dieu qui l'a mis sur terre pour mourir en sacrifice. La série d'énoncés dans Jean 6:51c–58 entraîne l'identification de Jésus avec Dieu en raison des attentes culturelles communes du monde méditerranéen antique entourant le sacrifice héroïque. Dans le contexte d'une relation narrative antagoniste, le sacrifice et le repas sacrificiel servent à identifier un héros avec un dieu. Le Jésus de Jean met en relief sa soumission à la volonté de Dieu, qui, depuis le début de l'Evangile est décrit comme ayant mis Jésus sur la terre pour mourir. En fait, la mort de Jésus est évoquée tout au long de Jean. Bien que Gregory Nagy ait déjà démontré le modèle d'antagonisme dans la littérature homérique et dans les pratiques de culte de l'époque, je suis l'évolution de ce trope à travers les romans grecs, où l'antagonisme, la mort et les repas se rejoignent dans le récit. Les héroïnes romantiques sont associées aux divinités, sont sacrifiées, et sont consommées. Si l'antagonisme et l'association sont des tropes très distincts à l'époque d'Homer, rendu à l'Ère Commune, ils se trouvent au niveau de la narrative où des héroïnes d'une beauté divine sont juxtaposées avec l'horreur de leurs sacrifices humaines. Les romans sont donc une lentille à travers laquelle on peut voir Jean 6:51c–58. À la lumière de Chéréas et Callirhoé, les Éphésiaques, Leucippé et Clitophon, et les Éthiopiques, on constate que Jean, et non par la dépendance littéraire directe, mais plutôt en faisant dans le milieu littéraire de la Méditerranée antique, manipule ce trope d'association et d'antagonisme, et de cette manière établit Jésus comme Dieu dans Jean 6:51c–58, où le sacrifice, la consommation, et la divinité se croisent de même.
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Hur, Ju. "A dynamic reading of the Holy Spirit in Luke-Acts." Thesis, University of Sheffield, 1998. http://etheses.whiterose.ac.uk/3463/.
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This study examines the Holy Spirit in Luke-Acts through a new perspective: 'dynamic biblical narrative criticism'. Chapter I briefly surveys the past and present issues in the study of the Holy Spirit in Luke and Acts by focusing on three representative scholars: J. D. G. Dunn; R-P. Menzies; M. M. B. - Turner, while noting that their research (including that of other influential scholars) was almost always undertaken by 'historical critical methods', especially 'redaction criticism’. Then I set out my methodology and procedure for the present work. Chapter 2 provides the literary repertoire of the Lukan Holy Spirit by examining the use of ruach or pneuma in the Jewish Bible and concludes that the divine Spirit in the extra text is always characterized as God's own Spirit, revealing his will/purpose by representing his power, activity and presence through his human agents. Chapters 3, 4 and 5 explore the Holy Spirit in Luke-Acts as dynamic biblical narrative. Chapter 3 discusses the relationship between the narrator’s point of view and the Spirit and notes especially that this point of View focuses not only on God and Jesus, but also on the Holy Spirit. References to the Holy Spirit are used to suggest narrative reliability: both the Lukan narrator and reliable characters are positively associated with the 'divine frame of reference', particularly with the Holy Spirit. Chapters 4 and 5 elucidate the Holy Spirit as a literary character through narrative theories of 'character' and 'characterization'. So Chapter 4 analyses the Spirit ill terms of 'character-presentation' and concludes that the Holy Spirit is characterized as God's promised Holy Spirit giving God's power and insight for his ongoing plan to God's human agents and his people in general as anticipated in the literary repertoire. At the same time, however, the Spirit is also characterized in close relation to (the risen) Jesus the Messiah and Lord, and after Jesus’ ascension the Spirit is almost always presented in contexts in which Jesus' witnesses are said to bear witness to the risen Jesus, not only to Jews, but also to Gentiles. Chapter 5 further explores the characterization of the Holy Spirit ill terms of the narrative function of the Spirit in relation to the causal aspect of the plot. It is argued that the major narrative function of the Holy Spirit is to empower and guide individual characters as God's human agents and Jesus' witnesses to seek and save God's people in accordance with the plan of God, while the Spirit also functions as verifying group characters as incorporated into God's people and is employed in relation to the life- situations of believers in settled communities by granting them charismatic gifts or comforting and encouraging them or initiating forms of patriarchal leadership. Chapter 6 summarizes the conclusions of the earlier chapters and briefly draws out implications of the results. of this study: (1) the theological significance of the Lukan presentation of the Holy Spirit and (2) the relationship of the Holy Spirit to (a) the narrator or implied author, (b) the text and (c) the implied reader of Luke-Acts, with final remarks about the legitimacy of Lukan ideology, the power of modem readers and my reading.
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Young, George Webber. "The role of the fantastic in Mark 6:45-56." Thesis, University of Sheffield, 1998. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.286891.
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Datiri, Dachollom C. "Finances in the Pauline churches : a social-exegetical study of the funding of Paul's mission and the financial administration of his congregations." Thesis, University of Sheffield, 1996. http://etheses.whiterose.ac.uk/12838/.
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Paul, like other apostles who adopted the so-called 'charismatic poverty, ' could have relied on his churches for the funding of his mission. He rejected such support and opted to work on a trade, a choice which ultimately rested on his conception of the gospel and the influence it had on his life. He gives three reasons for his actions: love for his converts, not to hinder the gospel, and his independence/freedom. This shows also an awareness of his social milieu. This thesis utilises 'models from the environment' to demonstrate that Paul extensively adopted, reshaped or modified the social conventions of his day, as need be. He conceived the gospel as received and interpreted within his social context, appreciating the good aspects of that social context. He accepted hospitality and benefaction only when it did not 'hinder the gospel' as he put it. Similarly, Paul expected the churches of his mission to run their local finances on these same principles, with the social conventions of hospitality, and benefaction featuring prominently. Such hospitality and benefaction were however understood in the light of the gospel message described as the 'law of Christ' (&vogoc XPLUTOO). His admonitions on work indicate that he expected his converts to follow his practice. Although he anticipated that out of love his converts would help one another, especially the poor, he did not by that expect that the poor would be lazy. For translocal finances, he expected that his reshaped, and modified form of patronage and benefaction would be adopted, taken in conjunction with the theological conception of giving as the grace of God bestowed for generosity.
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Jeyaraj, Baskaran. "Land ownership in the Pentateuch : a thematic study of Genesis 12 to Deuteronomy 34." Thesis, University of Sheffield, 1989. http://etheses.whiterose.ac.uk/10207/.
Full textAbstract:
The aims of this thesis are to study how the Pentateuch portrays land ownership and to answer some of the theological questions which arise from the study. By considering the Pentateuch as a literary work of art, relevant texts in their finished form are analysed in their contexts. The first Part, examining the stories of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in Gen. 12-50, deals with the idea of land ownership on two levels: (i) Yahweh's promise of the land to each patriarch and statements about a future owning of the land promised. The study of land promise accounts discusses issues such as the identity and extent of the promised land, the meaning of the giving of the land and the present and future owners of the land. (ii) The other aspect is the actual purchase of pieces of land and owning them, the cultivating of vacant land and appropriating it, and the digging of wells and claiming them. The second Part, examining the stories of Liberation, the Sinai Covenant and the Conquest in Exod. I--Num. 36, deals with the idea of the ownership of land by Yahweh and by the people of Israel. In the discussion of Yahweh's ownership is included his claim to the whole earth, agricultural land and a mountain sanctuary in the promised land. Regarding the ownership of land by the Israelites, different methods of possessing the land, rights and responsibilities of their tenancy, Levitical use of the pasture land and the priestly care of the dedicated land are discussed in detail. The third Part is the Farewell Address of Moses in Deuteronomy. Three ideas of land ownership are discussed in detail: Yahweh's ownership of the entire heaven and earthi the Isr~aelite ownership of the land possessed in Transjordan and the land to be possessed in west Jordan and the conditions of land ownership, and the ownership of land by other ethnic groups. In the Conclusion, some important questions identified during the analysis of the texts are answered from the total perspective of the study.